1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an adjustable dental implant for implantation in the alveolar bone and allowing a dental crown to be mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art(s)
Osseointegration dominates the bonding strength between the alveolar bone and a dental implant, whether a one-piece dental implant or a two-piece dental implant. Take the two-piece dental implant for instance. The dental implant comprises a fixture and an abutment. The fixture is screwed with the alveolar bone. The bottom of the abutment is screwed with the top of the fixture. The top of the abutment extends beyond the gum flap that covers the alveolar bone, so as to mount a dental crown.
As the dental implant is integrated with the alveolar bone only by the fixture in a dental implantation surgery, the quality and quantity of the alveolar bone has a great influence on the success and safety of the dental implantation surgery. Clinically, an alveolar bone at least 10 millimeters in height and at least 5 millimeters in width leads to a successful and safe dental implantation surgery. However, the tooth is extracted or exfoliates before the dental implantation surgery. The alveolar bone atrophies or loses, or the sinus lifts after the tooth extraction and the tooth exfoliation, such that the quality and quantity of the alveolar bone declines, introducing the following issues:
First, the dental implant is likely to damage the tissues near the alveolar bone, resulting in the failure of the dental implantation surgery.
Second, the dental implant cannot be firmly integrated with the alveolar bone and the osseointegration is not ideal. The dental implant and the alveolar bone are loosened after a period of applying the occlusal force on the dental crown, causing the falling of the dental implant and the dental crown and the failure of the dental implantation.
In order to avoid the issues mentioned above, the inventors of the present invention provided a dental implant comprising a fixture, an abutment set at the top of the fixture, and a connecting structure set between the fixture and the abutment. The connecting structure comprises two opposite wings. Each of the wings is at a predetermined angle toward the fixture. The fixture is implanted in the alveolar bone for osseointegration. The top of the abutment extends beyond the gum flap for mounting a dental crown thereon. The wings cover the surface of the cortical bone of the alveolar bone and are fixed with the cortical bone by dental posts.
Clinically, the dental implant provided by the inventors of the present invention has been proved to be capable of avoiding the issues mentioned above, convenient, cost-effective, and safe for implantation. Especially, at the positions where the alveolar bone is poor in quality and insufficient in quantity such as the positions with thin sinus, the one-piece or two-piece dental implant cannot be implemented.
Nevertheless, the degree of alveolar bone atrophy differs case by case. The wings arranged at the predetermined angles toward the fixture are not applicable to all cases. Further, for orientation of abutment for required occlusion, the predetermined angles of the wings may not entirely fit with the surface of the cortical bone and thus the dental posts are not allowed to penetrate the alveolar bone entirely. As such, dental posts are incapable of providing sufficient strength to securely fasten the fixture at a proper position in the process of osseointegration.
To overcome the shortcomings, an adjustable dental implant to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems is provided.